The present invention relates generally to vehicles, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for generating lift for a vehicle.
Some aircraft include short take-off and landing (STOL) technology to allow the aircraft to take-off from, and land on, conventionally short and/or damaged runways. STOL technology may include mechanical devices such as flaps and slats, and/or powered lifts systems such as internally blown flap (IBF), upper surface blowing (USB), externally blown flap (EBF), augmentor wing, and vectored thrust systems. Systems such as IBF, USB, and EBF often use engine bleed air or diverted exhaust gases to increase or amplify localized lift generated by the wings. However, the amount of gasflow required by IBF, USB, and EBF systems can place significant demands on aircraft engines. A larger engine, which provides inferior cruise performance, may be needed to accommodate the gas flow requirements of such systems. Furthermore, if an engine becomes inoperable the aircraft may experience a loss of localized lift on a wing adjacent the inoperable engine thereby disrupting an even distribution of lift along the wing.